Origin
of the Surname DuffIn
the Gaelic, signifies black, but in the Cornish British and Welsh, a captain.

DANIEL
DUFF (SHADRACK) was born 1772, and died August 15, 1855 in Carter County,
Kentucky. He married NANCY ANN ALLISON Abt. 1795 in Guilford, North Carolina.
She was born Abt. 1776 in Lee County, Virginia, and died 1849 in Perry
Co., Ky. Notes for DANIEL DUFF: Daniel married Nancy Ann Allison in North
Carolina, but a short time later, the couple moved to the Wallin Ridge
section of Lee County, Virginia, where many of their children were born.
He became a minister of the Primitive Baptist Church before he came to
Kentucky. Nancy Ann Allison was born of Welsh parentage at Guilford County,
North Carolina, in 1776. As is usually the case with the distaff side of
a family, not much is known about her. We do know, however, that she was
a faithful, caring wife and mother. Prior to 1818, this couple had moved
to the head of the North Fork of the Kentucky River, in what is now Letcher
County. According to family history, it was upon the suggestion of Elder
Jesse Bowling that they settled on Grapevine Creek in old Clay County (now
Perry County). History also suggests that Daniel was originally of the
Presbyterian faith and changed his religious affiliations before arriving
in Kentucky. This is very probable, since the Primitive Baptist and the
Presbyterian faiths, at that time, were very similar. This opinion was
strong in more than one of the families which descended from Daniel and
Nancy Ann Duff. Daniel was active in Primitive Baptist churches of the
Indian Bottom Association. Records confirm that he was involved with the
Sandlick Church in Floyd County, the Oven Fork Church in Letcher County,
the Indian Bottom Church in Perry County, and the Stillwater Baptist Church
in Breathitt County. He was also the mover who brought the Quicksand Primitive
Baptist Church in Breathitt County into existence. The Indian Bottom Church
was founded in 1810 in what is now Letcher County, and soon became the
leading church of the Indian Bottom Association of Regular Baptists. That
church, and all other Primitive Baptist churches in Eastern Kentucky at
that time, was a member of the Washington Association of Southwestern Virginia.
Regardless of distance, these early churches were represented at the annual
associations. One church historian states, "In 1814, Elder Daniel Duff
was known to have preached where Whitesburg is now located (then Floyd
County). In 1815, returning from Virginia, he was accompanied by two ministers,
William Wells and John Flannery, pastor of the Deep Springs Church in Lee
County, Virginia. Duff once lived on the river above Blackey, Kentucky,
and came down into what is now Perry County in 1818. Records show that
the Presbyteria, which organized the Oven Fork Church in 1820, was composed
of Elders Daniel Duff, William Wells, and John Flannery (Perry County:
A History, page 120). As an early minister in Perry County, he performed
many of the marriages, which are entered in Marriage Books A and B. In
1839, the Quicksand Regular Baptist Church was organized. Its first moderator,
which most faiths refer to as a "pastor," was Daniel Duff. According to
church records, it was built about 600 yards above the mouth of Quicksand
Creek. Measuring 20 feet by 24 feet, it was made of hand-hewn logs. Its
seats were made of split logs and served the congregation for many years
(from the minutes of the Quicksand Regular Baptist Church). An interesting
fact is that none of the minutes of the Indian Bottom Association churches
list Nancy Ann Duff as a member. Nancy Allison Duff died in 1849 and is
buried in the John Bach Cemetery at Quicksand, Breathitt County. After
her death, Daniel went to live with his daughter, Drucilla Duff Gilbert,
in Carter County. A short time later, he married Ellen Roe. During his
residence in Carter County, as a minister of the Christian Gospel, he continued
to marry couples in this capacity. He died on August 15, 1855 and was buried
near Olive Hill. His grave is yet to be identified, but family tradition
has it that he is buried in the same cemetery as his second wife, Ellen
Roe. ( Have extended info on Ellen Littleton Roe... Refer to "Hunters FTW
File) By William Henry Young Children of DANIEL DUFF and NANCY
ALLISON are: i. HENRY C3 DUFF, m. MARY NANCY DAVIDSON. Notes for HENRY
C DUFF: Henry C. served in the Kentucky Legislature, was the first sheriff
of Perry County, and served as a teacher and postmaster in the Grapevine
section of Perry County. He moved to Missouri and was killed there by a
roving band of irregulars during the Civil War. 3. ii. RACHEL DUFF, b.
1797, Lee County, Virginia; d. July 14, 1855, Quicksand, Breathitt Co.,
Ky. iii. MARY DUFF, b. Abt. 1799, Lee County, Virginia. iv. MARTHA DUFF,
b. Abt. 1801, Tennessee. 4. v. JOHN A. DUFF, b. Abt. 1802, Tennessee. 5.
vi. DEBORAH DUFF, b. 1808. 6. vii. COLSON DUFF, b. Abt. 1815. 7. viii.
ALEXANDER DUFF, b. Abt. 1817, Kentucky. 8. ix. DRUCILLA DUFF, b. Abt. 1821.
x. SHADRACK DUFF, b. Abt. 1823; m. LUCINDA COMBS. Notes for SHADRACK DUFF:
Shadrach Duff, son of Daniel and Nancy, is mentioned in an interview by
the Rev. John J. Dickey, conducted in May 1898 with Matilda Duff Lewis.
She states, "Shadrach Duff, my brother, was killed by an explosion of a
keg of gunpowder when a young man..." xi. MARGARET DUFF, b. 1823; m. JOHN
HAYS. Notes for MARGARET DUFF: John and Margaret first moved to Wolfe County
to be near several of John's brothers, who lived there in the 1860s, 1870s,
and 1880s. By 1880, he and Margaret Duff Hays had moved to Menifee County.
9. xii. MATILDA DUFF, b. April 09, 1825, Perry County, Kentucky; d. May
1904.

2.
*SHADRACH2 DUFF
(*SHADRACK/SHADRICK/SHADRACH1) was born 1746 in Ireland, and died 15 March
1781 in Guilford Co., NC. He married *DEBORAH
DIXON. She was born 1750 in Dublin,
Ireland or Scotland, and died 1780 in Guilford Co., NC.

"
On March 15, 1781, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, was
raging. General Green, the Colonial general, had carefull picked
this site as the place to engage the English general, Cornwallis.
That day, Henry Lee's cavalry encountered cornwallis' advancing army and
fought it briefly. then the British Army crashed up the hill toward
the courthouse, where green colonial troops fired two promised volleys
and fled.

The
battle was fought furiously by John Howard and William Washington's cavalries
and seasoned Colonials. Colonial and English troops fought each other,
with neither side gaining the advantage, until Cornwallis ordered his gunners
to open fire on friend and foe alike. At the end of this slaughter,
Shadrach Duff, the father of Daniel Duff, the ancestor of generations of
Eastern Kentuckians, was dead.

Shadrach
Duff's ancestors came from near the present site of Dufftown, Scotland.There
is little doubt that his ancestors fought the British in the Battle of
Culloden, Scotland, during the time when the Scots were attempting to place
Bonny Prince Charles on the throne. Family history has Shadrach's
father arriving in America from northern Ireland, which is clear testimony
to this fact.

Shadrach
married Deborah Dickson (Dixon) a few short years before the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse. He and Deborah had two children: Daniel and
Elizabeth. Deborah Dickson Duff died soon after her husband, and
both children were bonded to Mary Hamilton at Guilford Courthouse, North
Carolina, on November 20, 1786.

In
the spring of 1787, Elizabeth would have been 13 years old and was bonded
until she was 18. Daniel was 11 years old that spring and was bonded
until he was 21 (Court Records: Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Guilford County,
North Carolina, November 20, 1786; page 232).

3.
*DANIEL
(REV.)3 DUFF (*SHADRACH2, *SHADRACK/SHADRICK/SHADRACH1)
was born 1776 in Guilford Co., NC, and died 15 August 1855 in Carter Co.,
KY., age 64. He married (1) *NANCY ANN
ALLISON 1795 in Guilford NC. She was
born 1776 in Guilford Co.,NC, and died 15 August 1849 in Quicksand (Breathitt)
KY. He married (2) ELEANOR LITTLETON ROE/NOE 16 March 1851 in Carter
Co., KY, daughter of JOHN LITTLETON and LEANNER GODDARD.

In
1839, the Quicksand Regular Baptist Church was organized. Its firs
moderator, which most faiths refer to as a "pastor", was Daniel Duff.
According to church records, it was built about 600 yards above the mouth
of Quicksand Creek. Measuring 20 feet by 24 feet, it was made of
hand hewn logs. Its seats were made of split logs and served the
congregation for many years. (fromthe minutes of the Quicksand Regular
Baptist Church). An interesting fact is that none of the minutes
of the Indian Bottom Association churches list Nancy Ann Duff as a member.

Nancy
Allison Duff died in 1849 and is buried in the John Bach Cemetery at Quicksand,
Breathitt County. After her death, Daniel went to live with his daughter,
Drucilla Duff Gilbert in Carter county. A short time later, he married
Ellen Roe.

During
his residence in Carter County, as a minister of the Christian Gospel,
he continued to marry couples in this capacity. He died on Aug. 15,
1855 and was buried near Olive Hill. His grave is yet to be identified,
but family tradition has it that he is buried in the same cemetery as his
second wife, Ellen Roe.

A
monument to his memory was erected at Caney, Kentucky, off Highway 191,
about nine miles from West Liberty on the property of Daniel Duff's great-great-grandson,
Wardie Craft. Daniel's Bible, a small English book, is now owned
by his great-great grandson, Cecil Duff, son of the late Claude Duff of
Owsley County. Ira Duff, now deceased, owned the Bible belonging
to Daniel's son, John A. Duff. I don't know who owns John's Bible
today.

Ellen
Roe was not a widow as is sstated in Perry county: A History. She
and her first husband, Edward Roe, divorced (Carter County, Kentucky, Order
Book A). Edward and Ellen had 11 children from 1814-1835, he married
a 25 year old widow, Rebecca Burris Lewis and fathered five children by
her, from 1838-1849.

Each
of Daniel and Nancy Ann Duff's children are listed in chronological order.
Their younger children were all born on Grapevine Creek in Perry County.
The offspring of this couple numbers into the thousands, by the time we
get to the ninth and tenth generations of Revolutionary War soldier, Shadrach
Duff.

More
About *DANIEL (REV.) DUFF:Burial:
Olive Hill, KY

Bonnie
Duff-Smith <Duffsmith@prodigy.net> 427 Hidden Forest, S.; Longview,
TX 75605. Bonnie sent me a 9 page report on the Duff family. Oct.3,
2001. she has Nancy's place of death as Perry Co., KY.

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